Kelly's Heroes (1970)

Instant Favorite.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

OMG I am a Clint Eastwood fan since years and I've never seen this movie thinking it was a war movie and I'm too much into army movies due to some nasty wartime events I was in. But ok, I've had a great time watching and laughing like nuts. Reading some of the dialogs after watching the movie litterally made me cry from laughing. For me it's even a good "feel good" movie. Clint is good, Kojak is better and Donald is just great... Now I realize how much I've missed by not watching the movie before, but now I keep this movie and will definitely watch again many many more times.

I haven't read the other reviews, so I don't know if anybody else has touched on this point, BUT...have you ever seen a movie where it seemed that the parts were written specifically for the actors that played them? This movie seems that way to me. I get the idea, right or wrong, that the screenwriter had Telly Savalas in mind, for instance, for the role of 'Big Joe' before he inserted the first sheet of paper into his typewriter. Ditto for Don Rickles, Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, and all the rest. Personality-wise, they all fit into their roles perfectly.With regard to the idea of making a comedy movie set in the midst of war, I suspect that soldiers involved in combat develop their own bitter sense of humor in their attempts to cope with the tragedy all around them.I would have been more offended with the early sub-plot involving 'Big Joe' (Sevalas) and his concern with securing willing French girls for his men to have sex with. What do feminists have to say about that? I'm no expert, but I suspect that soldiers are even more concerned with sex than the 'average man' since they don't know if they'll have the opportunity for one more intimate encounter before they get killed in action.One minor aspect I was very pleased to see was the selection of which unit the characters came from. The script placed them in an outfit that was actually in that part of France in the late summer of 1944. I would have to suspect that the movie was set in September of 1944, since the Americans hadn't yet taken Nancy and there was one sequence where the men are siting around in their t-shorts, apparently quite comfortable.All in all always a lot of fun to watch, whenever it's on TV.

Credits roll as The Mike Curb Congregation perform their catchy "Burning Bridges" during a thunderstorm punctuated by fiery explosions. Believe it or not, it's 1944 and the Germans are bombing Americans stationed in France. While future "Kojak" TV detective Telly Savalas (as Big Joe) barks orders, rugged box-office star Clint Eastwood (as Kelly) saunters on screen. After inquiries about liquor and loose women, Mr. Eastwood discovers gold in a German prisoner's possession. Even better, a $16 million fortune in gold is stored in a bank vault, just behind enemy lines. "Beach Party" series adult and insult comedian Don Rickles shows interest. Future lovable bigot "Archie Bunker" Carroll O'Connor joins the fun. Eastwood organizes "Kelly's Heroes" and a cast of dirty dozens in an attempt to infiltrate German territory and steal the gold...Writer Troy Kennedy Martin and director Brian G. Hutton may have been trying for satirical comedy with this one, but "Kelly's Heroes" fails to thrive in its World War II setting. They should have set the story in (then) present-day Vietnam; the situation, that of a heist, hints at imperialism and flirts with anti-war sentiments. The most obviously inappropriate character is pseudo-hippie Donald Sutherland (as Oddball), but Don Rickles and others area also misplaced. The action consists of character actors shouting their lines amid explosions, to which Eastwood plays straight man. A sequence involving land mines, including a gun battle, is very skillfully done; momentarily, the film is lifted. It does get back to basics, those being loud character actors and fiery explosions. In a film like this, loud character actors and fiery explosions are gold.****** Kelly's Heroes (6/23/70) Brian G. Hutton ~ Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles

This is something as odd as a feel good movie that takes place during the final stages of world war II. A merry gang of disillusioned and wary soldiers led by Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas learns about a large deposit of gold hidden behind enemy lines. After joining up with a slightly unhinged tank commander played beautifully by Donald Sutherland they decide to go after the gold rather than serving as cannon fodder for the official cause.The movie is quite absurd at times and takes many liberties with reality, but it's so charming and up beat that you swallow it all, grenades, hook, lion and sinker. The characters are both bad ass and human at the same time and much easier to identify with than the stereotypical action heroes.Give this one a chance and you will not regret it!